I've been talking a lot about vitamin D in the past few years.  New data suggests that inflammation is the culprit for the incredibly high incidence of deficiency of this nutrient.  Low levels of vitamin D have been correlated with high incidences of cancer, heart disease, autoimmune disorders, poorly functioning immune systems, and musculoskeletal disorders.

A new study from the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition found that 2 days after knee surgery serum levels of vitamin D dropped 40%, and that three months later levels were still 20-30% below presurgery levels.  These researchers showed that this directly correlated with acute inflammation after surgery.  Surprisingly, they also found that the study participants were deficient in vitamin D before the surgery--so deficient that they had secondary hyperparathyroidism!

More research is linking vitamin D to musculoskeletal disorders.  A recent study in Headache shows that headache increases with latitude and during seasons with shorter days.  They correlated this information with evidence that vitamin D has alleviated headaches in some studies to form a hypothesis that Vitamin D deficiency plays a key role in the development of headache in some people.

Another recent study from the Scandinavian Journal of Primary Care  found " a high prevalence of hypovitaminosis D in patients with non-specific musculoskeletal pain, headache, or fatigue."

Inflammation is likely at the root of many cases of vitamin D deficiency, and all chronic degenerative diseases.  If your D is low, get a test that compares Arachodonic Acid to EPA--this is a sensitive test for inflammation that compares omega-6's to 3's in your body.  If this ration is off it will deplete your vitamin D and erode your health.  For more info on omega-3's in health, search my website.

The moral of the story is, get your D tested!

Patients often seek care in my office for migraine headaches--as a rule they are pleasantly surprised with the results attained through chiropractic care.  

Research studies on the subject demonstrate the following benefits with chiropractic:

• 60% reduction in migraine frequency (less than half the migraines!)
• 14% reduction in pain during migraine
• 20% reduction in duration of migraine
• 36% reduction in medication needed for migraine

 Other research on the subject has yielded similar results.  I believe that chiropractic should be the first choice in treating migraine because 1)there is minimal chance of adverse reactions--its very safe, 2)benefits from chiropractic care are long lasting, not temporary as with medication, and 3)chiropractic care treats the source of the problem for most people with migraines, a poorly functioning neck.  

Read the full text study on Chiropractic and migraine here.

The medical journal "Headache" published a study in May on "Medication Overuse Headaches." These headaches are actually precipitated and brought on by medication use. Many, many Americans reach for a pill bottle at the first sign of headache. This is like hearing an awful sound in your car, then putting in earplugs rather than finding the cause of the sound! The researchers came up with the stunning figure that about 60% of all headache sufferers reporting to one headache center suffered from "Medication Overuse Headaches (MOH)!" The most common drugs to cause these headaches were NSAIDs (such as ibuprofen, advil. etc) and some of the newer migraine drugs. Keep in mind that chiropractic care has a great track record for treating headaches. Most patient leave the clinic with immediate relief, and after a course of treatment the benefits are lasting. Below are two links to research, one for chiropractic and cervicogenic headaches (a common form of headache that begins in the neck at the base of the skull and works it's way into the head), and one for migraine headaches. The studies show that immediate relief is similar to drugs, but that the benefits last, whereas with drug therapy the benefits cease when the medication stops. This leads to cycling of medication and often results in medication overuse headaches! Since chiropractic addresses the cause of the problem, the benefits are lasting. One other tip: in children, the herb butterbur is extremely effective in treating migraines--see the link below! Medication Overuse Headache Article , Chiropractic and Cervicogenic Headaches , Chiropractic and Migraine , Butterbur and Children's Migraine